Acclimation
by Blue Goddess Fyre
Summary: Selected to assist in the repopulation of the Vulcan race, Dr. Strawberry Slater must leave everything she knew behind in order to travel to the new colony. does not really involve canon characters. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

A/N: All the characters in this story are OCs...okay, not all, but most. While it centers mainly on my OCs, there will be the occasional interaction with canon characters. So, please keep this in mind while reading, especially since I definitely don't want to get reviews complaining about the lack of canon characters in this piece of fanfiction.

Also, there is a high possibility that I will only post the first chapter here, unless there is a 'demand' for it. A friend of mine is beta-ing what I write, and as of now I only have three complete chapters, and only two beta'd out of the three. I'm writing this for NaNoWriMo, but since my inspiration comes sporadically, I'll continue it beyond this month.

I do hope you'll enjoy it, though. And if you have constructive criticism (and not out-right flames), I would greatly appreciate it. But the old "like it, please continue" is good, too. But reviews make me happy, and make me wanna write more, so...they're like bribes? :3 Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 01

* * *

The smooth sounds of drums, guitars, and the raw voice of the singer hummed in her ears, drowning out the voices all around her, giving her some semblance of peace while being pressed against the window on the 415 bus by the crowd of holiday shoppers. Even with her breathing painful and shuddering, and the charm on her necklace cutting into her clenched fist, Berry knew that she could endure the rest of the trip to her stop. She had to endure; there was no other option, seeing as how she had never learned to operate a vehicle other than a shuttle. After her father was killed in that car accident, she and her mother had never really felt comfortable in the contraptions. Besides, it was the holidays: it was one of the few times of the year when she could make the trip to see her mother on the other side of the city.

Taking another deep, shuddering breath, she went through her mental checklist of all the things she needed to accomplish over the couple days worth of vacation she had scheduled to spend the holidays with her mother. Seeing as how every time they reunited, her mother wrangled her into doing some sort of household maintenance, Berry had been sure to bring along a bagful of tools she might need. Despite her handiness, she often wondered how her mother got along without her taking care of household repairs.

A tap on her shoulder jolted her out of her reverie. Tugging the earbuds out of her ears, she turned to look down at the little girl that sat next to her grandmother in the seat next to Berry. "Hey, lady, your hand is bleeding," the little girl said, holding up several cartoon-printed bandaids to her. Blinking, Berry unclenched her fist and checked it; sure enough, blood sluggishly oozed out of the tiny indents in her palm. She smiled tentatively at the little girl as she took one of the bandaids. "Thank you," Berry told her. "You are a very sweet little girl."

The little girl smiled brightly, turning back to her grandmother, who just chuckled. "You better be careful to not hold on to things too tightly, dear," the old woman lifted her eyes to Berry. "You hold on too tight, you're liable to crush what you hold."

"Err, yea, I'll keep that in mind, thank you," she laughed sheepishly, just as the bus slid to a halt, unbalancing her momentarily. Whipping her head to the front of the bus, she let out a small sigh of relief when she saw that it was her stop. Picking up her bag, she quickly nodded her head to the girl and her grandmother before she pushed her way to the front.

Gratefully, she hopped off the bus and onto the curb. Momentarily, she had the urge to kiss the concrete, but decided against it. Moving out of the way of the other passengers stepping off the bus, she walked briskly down the sidewalk to her mother's apartment building. She'd always wondered why her mother had insisted on living in an apartment while simultaneously claiming to be a modern day hippie. But, she'd long ago decided it was just one of her mother's many quirks, and it gave the aging woman something to do.

Turning the corner, Berry moved into the more familiar neighborhood where she'd grown to adulthood. Many of the buildings were in a perpetual state of being half rundown, but it lent a somewhat odd charm to the people that called the area home.

Passing by the stoop of a brightly painted building, she lifted her hand and called to the men lounging on the steps. "Hey, guys, how're ya'll?"

One by one, they called out their greetings in a friendly, familiar manner. "It's good to see you again, Berry," they pretty much all said. "Going to see your mama?"

"Yup, you betcha," she laughed, continuing on her way. With another wave, she added behind her, "Tell your families I said hi!"

She greeted a few more people lounging on the stoops as she crossed the street to the side her mother's apartment complex was located. While there were plenty of people she didn't know that had moved into the neighborhood in the years since she'd moved to the opposite side of the city, the whole neighborhood still knew her by sight. They were all good, friendly people and protected their own, even against the street gangs that occasionally tried to make the area part of their territory.

Skipping up the stoop, she paused to switch her bag to her left hand to tug open the creaking wooden door. Though the building had a lock, no one had ever bothered to secure the door during the night or at any other time. Once she was inside, she moved quickly up the threadbare carpet stairs, not bothering with the elevator. Once she reached the fifth floor, she moved down the hallway and stopped before apartment 506, and knocked on the door.

Mere moments later, Berry was greeted by the face of her mother, a woman who had looked exactly like Berry in her youth. Now, Cassandra "Celestial" Slater was a white-haired woman in perpetually baggy, homemade clothing, green eyes squinting behind a pair of spectacles that hadn't been replaced since before Berry had been born.

"Strawberry!" Her mother exclaimed, wrenching her brown-haired daughter into a fierce embrace. "Oh, my precious baby girl, I'm so glad you've arrived safely! I just heard on the news that there were some muggings a couple blocks away!"

Grimacing, Berry shoved her mother back into the apartment, closing the door hurriedly behind her. It was no secret that she hated her given name, but it didn't stop her mother from trying to shout it to everyone and their dog. "Mother," she snapped, "You don't even have a TV! Why lie about that sort of thing, huh? You just wanted to shout my real name to everyone and their dog that's listening."

Laughing, her mother gave her another hug, this time not as fierce. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but I really don't see the big problem you have with your name. It was given and chosen out of love, not malice."

Rolling her eyes, Berry moved them out of the entranceway and into the living room, where she tossed her bag into the purple recliner in the corner. "Yea, and it's ironic how I'm allergic to strawberries, huh, Mama?"

Celestial gave a deep, heartfelt laugh, her green eyes twinkling from behind spectacles and crows feet. "Yes, it is ironic, dear," she agreed. "But even so!" She moved forward to tug on her daughter's arm, leading her toward the dining room and kitchen area. "Now, help me think of the menu for our Solstice dinner."

.

Later that evening, as mother and daughter sat in the living room sipping tea and sharing stories of their respective daily lives, Berry fell quiet, just as her mother finished relating to her the story of her neighbors in 508 and 504. Normally, Celestial would have just prattled on about another subject, but the aging woman could feel the tension in the air surrounding her only child. As different as they were, they were open with each other about anything and everything that they experienced, be it love, sex, money troubles, or what have you.

"Sweetie, if you have to tell me something, you'd better say it now before it eats you alive," Celestial murmured over her mug of tea. Her daughter didn't even look surprised that she had guessed that something was troubling her.

With a sigh, Berry leaned forward and set her mug of tea on the coffee table in between the two of them. "Mama..." She let out another sigh. "I was contacted by a Federation official the other day."

Blinking, the aging mother leaned forward and set her mug on the coffee table as well. "You don't work for the Federation," she said lamely. "You work for a pharmaceutical company."

"Yea, I know," the younger woman sighed, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "They wanted to know if I would be interested in a ... well, in a once-in-a-lifetime position in one of their projects."

"Well, if that doesn't just beat all! What kind of project?"

"..." Berry buried her face in her hands. "Mama, what was the concentration in my area of study back in college?"

Celestial blinked, momentarily confused. "Xenogenetics, why?"

"Specifically?" She prompted, looking at her mother with worried green eyes from between her fingers.

"Vul---...oh."

"Exactly, Mama," Berry said, moving back to slump in the recliner. "The official said that while looking for people to work on the project, they came across my term paper from back when I was getting my doctorate. They read it, and, well, suffice to say, they want to enlist my aide in the repopulation of the Vulcan race by cataloging the remaining Vulcan genetics in order to create the best pairings to avoid genetic defects."

Her mother held up her hand when Berry paused, as if to catch her breath before moving on. "Don't tell me the specifics," she sighed. "Just... Please, sweetie, just get to the point? Such an endeavor is very admirable, so what is the reason you didn't jump at the opportunity?"

Biting her cheek, Berry paused before she answered. "I have to live on New Vulcan for the duration of the project," she said finally. "And given the number of Vulcans left, I may have to live there for upwards of ten, twenty years, maybe more. I wouldn't be able to visit you; the project would keep me busy, even through the holidays, and I just don't know if it would be very good of me to leave you here on your own, especially since the place is practically falling down around your ears every time I come home--"

"Strawberry Sunshine Slater." Berry quieted as her mother looked at her sternly. Green eyes were devoid of mirth, amusement, and were all seriousness. "You have the chance to help repopulate an entire race. You have the chance to work closely with the same race that your own father was obsessed with."

Berry inhaled sharply at the mention of her father. Though she only vaguely remembered the man, she clearly remembered all his excited talks about his acquaintanceship with the alien race, and his study of their language and culture. It had been something father and daughter had bonded over, and a passion Berry had carried on since.

Celestial continued. "I may be getting on in my years, sweetie, but I am nowhere near deaths door. Besides that, Betty on the sixth floor has a son that's an out of work handyman; I could always hire him to keep up the maintenance."

"Mama..."

Taking up her mug again, the aging mother settled back into her seat. "When you go back to your fancy apartment, I want you to call up that Federation official and tell him you accept the position. You can always call me on a comm if you miss home, you know," she smiled, winking at her daughter. "I've always been meaning to get me one of those things, after all."

Tears welling up, Berry resisted the urge to leap across the coffee table and pull her mother into a fierce hug. "Mama, thank you," she said instead, taking back up her own mug of tea. "And I'll head out with you tomorrow to get you that comm for the Solstice. I'll bet you'll put it off otherwise, until I have to call the landlord to insist he get one installed in your apartment."

They shared a laugh, both knowing that it was true. Though the atmosphere was much less happy, it was still comfortable to them both. At least, Celestial decided, that they would miss each other while Berry was off on New Vulcan. Though they would be separated by however many lightyears, their love for each other would span that distance in no time at all.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So...I'm rather disappointed by the lack of hits and reviews...but I'm still going to put up this chapter. Why? Maybe I'm a glutton for disappointment...or I'm being optimistic. Either way, still disappointed. Enjoy...if you actually give a care.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

In a few minutes, the shuttle would be taking off for its mother ship up in space, and Dr. Berry Slater would be on her way to New Vulcan, to a new job and new life. She was notably jittery about the journey, which would take a maximum of six days, but that was at half the speed the Federation transport was capable. Even at max, however, it would give Berry entirely too much time to think back on her decision to accept the position and head to the colony with a minimal amount of her personal belongings. Time had been of the essence, as the transport starship that would be used to ferry the new project personnel from Earth to New Vulcan would have left before Berry could have had half her things boxed. Her mother had offered to box Berry's things and send them to her at a later date, but the younger woman had declined; Berry was able to carry what little she would need at the colony on board with her, and anything else was of minimal sentimental value.

The man next to her shifted in his seat, grimacing as he tried to find a more comfortable spot on the seat. When Berry smothered a halfhearted laugh, he turned and gave her a halfhearted glare. "These seats aren't very comfortable, are they?"

Still trying not to giggle, she replied, "They are, but we're only going to be on the shuttle for as long as it takes to reach the transport."

"Even so," he said, making another face. This time, Berry did laugh out loud, and the man quickly grinned at her. He held up a hand for her to shake, "The name's Byron Wolfe. I'll be working on the agriculture side of the project."

She clasped his hand, giving it a firm shake. "I'm Dr. Slater. I'll be working in genetics."

Byron let out a low whistle as she released his hand. "Wowie, I'd have never guessed that such a pretty lady as yourself would hide such a brain."

Looking at him askance, Berry chuckled. "I don't know if I should be flattered, or hit you for that remark."

He laughed, holding up his hands in a way of placating her playful anger. "Kidding, kidding. I'd already heard that the Federation had hired a xenogeneticist by the name of Slater. However, I haven't heard your given name," he said slyly, waggling his eyebrows.

Berry laughed again, but shook a finger at his antics. "And you won't. Though we'll be colleagues, I'd rather you call me by my family name, Wolfe."

"Oh, Ron, please," he insisted, hiding his disappointment behind a silly grin. "I've never really liked my name."

"I can share those same sentiments," she admitted. "But I'm still not telling you."

"Damn," he laughed.

Before they could continue with their conversation, the rest of the passengers boarded the shuttle, followed by the pilots and the official that had personally sought Berry ought. The next few minutes were spent getting everyone situated, and explaining flight procedures, before they actually lifted off.

Aboard the transport ship and settled into her temporary quarters, Berry went through another mental checklist, playing delicately with the charm at her neck. The cut she'd had on her palm had healed for the most part, but the scab still pained her a little, distracting her momentarily from her list.

Shaking her head, she lowered her hand and sat on the bed. The clothes she'd brought with her were suitable for the hot, arid climate of the colony, but hardly suitable for working inside a laboratory. Thankfully, the official had assured her that she would receive a uniform to wear during working hours, despite the fact that she was technically a civilian under Federation employment. Along with the clothes, she'd made sure to bring along some of her personal collection of books. They were hardly proper reading for a xenogeneticist, being trashy multi-species romance novels, but they were a guilty pleasure of hers. That, and they served to remind her that love could span just about any gap, be it personality, time, or race. Then, of course, she had made sure to bring her portable music unit, for the times when she really didn't want to hear the quiet, or the cacophony of human voices, pressing in on her.

Nodding her head as she came to the end of her list, she rose off the bed and left her quarters, walking along the corridors until she found the arrow pointing to the mess. Berry figured that she would grab a bite to eat before she returned to her room and got some sleep. The next couple of days would be spent in mental preparation for having to be away from her home, and she was sure that some homesickness would crop up with nothing to do. Which is why she had promised herself that she would spend time with the other passengers, if just to avoid feeling down about being separated from her mother by however many lightyears.

Entering the mess, she was momentarily startled when Ron called out to her, "Dr. Slater! Come eat with us, huh?" She noted the other occupants at the table, and smiled to show her agreement. Moving to the replicator before making her way to the table, she ordered up a simple salad and took it with her to the only available seat, which was oh so conveniently by Ron.

"Dr. Slater, this here's Dr. Kevin Vaughn, his wife Professor Regina Vaughn, Jiang Li, and Cyrille Gray," Ron introduced them, pointing to each occupant. "Everyone, this here is Dr. Slater. She hasn't told me her given name."

They all laughed at his added commentary before Berry leaned across the table to shake each hand in turn. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," she said. "I hope we'll get along during the length of the project."

Cyrille, a young woman only a few years older than Berry herself, leaned forward and winked. "I'm sure we will, just so long as you don't have an annoying habit, like not working." Though the words were said in jest, the underlying threat was palpable.

"Don't worry, Miss Gray," Berry assured her. "I'm rather like a workaholic when I'm not on vacation. I love work that much."

Satisfied, Cyrille sat back and took several bites of her food as the conversation at the table moved to the various departments they would be working in. During the meal, Berry found that the only one who would ever visit her department was Kevin, who would be taking care of the human workers of the project as they got used to living among the Vulcans. It was a good thing, since Berry was pretty sure that both Cyrille and Ron would have a hard time adjusting to the environment.

After the meal, they each said farewell to each other before they returned to their respective quarters. Berry returned to hers, not entirely unsatisfied with her colleagues. However, the mere fact that she had yet to meet anyone who would work in her department was somewhat unsettling. Of course, it was more than likely that her coworkers would be Vulcan, seeing as how the repopulation project was mainly run by Vulcans, since it was for them. If that were the case, then she would more than likely need to cultivate her friendships with the other passengers on the transport, if she was to have any semblance of a private life. Berry didn't think she'd be able to stand the quiet, serene environment otherwise.

With a sigh, she sat on her bed, laying back to stare at the ceiling. It really was quite an amazing opportunity, especially since it had been offered to her and not a Federation xenogeneticist. They had to have had the best and brightest in the universe, but they had picked her... It made her wonder exactly what had drawn them to her, to her thesis paper, in the first place. It wasn't as if she was a 'special' person: she didn't have connections, her IQ wasn't extraordinarily high, and her work ethic was only mildly workaholic.

But they had chosen her. Or, at least offered her the position. Maybe they had offered the role to another xenogeneticist, but they had turned it down in favor of a different job? If that were the case, then Berry certainly had a few choice words to give to those people! Abandoning an entire race of people in their time of need... Okay, so it wasn't really abandoning them. The majority of the race were scientists, after all, so they had to have geneticists working around the clock to help them achieve their goal of repopulation.

"Urgh," she sighed, turning over as she forced the topic out of her mind. The more she thought about the whole thing, the more depressed and homesick she was likely to get. Berry had a job to do, and her own personal doubts and worries had to take a back seat, whether they liked it or not.

With another sigh, she crawled underneath the thin standard issue blankets on the bed, shut off the lights, and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was fast asleep, exhausted from the excitement, worry, and wonderment of the journey she was undertaking.

Over the next couple of days, Berry spent little time by herself. She was either in the rec room playing chess with Cyrille, practicing Tai Chi with Jiang, or laughing and sharing stories with the others in the mess. Cyrille, after the hostility she'd displayed that first day, had proven to be a sweet, kind hearted person after all. After talking with Berry during their first chess game, she had apologized, admitting that it was a pet peeve of hers whenever she saw someone with an important job not doing their work to the best of their ability. Berry, of course, had already forgiven her, and no more was said of that first day.

Unfortunately, Ron had seemed to take a liking to Berry, and tried to stick to her side like glue. But, when she had first begun to play chess with Cyrille, and practicing Tai Chi with Jiang, he had quickly become bored and moved on to go pester the Vaughns, who didn't do much beyond sitting and chatting about anything and everything under the sun. Though Berry liked Ron--he was a funny guy, after all--she really didn't appreciate his enthusiasm for getting closer to her than the others.

On the last day before they would reach the colony, the captain of the transport gathered them all together at the captain's table in the mess, giving them a fancy speech that they were doing good work. Alcohol was served, making voices and laughter much louder and sharper than usual. Berry declined the drinks, and kept to water. The only times she would ever drink alcohol would be in the privacy of her own home, and that was mostly because she was a rather, err, affectionate drunk.

Quickly, though, the others at the table were becoming too loud, making it harder and harder to concentrate on eating. Of course, Berry tried to block out the cacophony of noise, but it did little good. Thankfully, the Vaughns retreated to their rooms, and after they left the others quickly followed suit. Grateful to the older couple, she hurriedly finished her meal and retreated to her own room.

"Hey, Dr. Slater!"

Someone called her name just as she reached her door, and with a quick twitch of annoyance, she turned and gave Ron a small smile as he drunkenly wavered over to her from where he had been slumped against the door to his quarters.

"Dr. Slater," he slurred, leaning down over her, bathing her face in the scent of alcohol. "We're gonna reach New Vulcan tomorrow..."

She nodded, her back pressed against her door; she really didn't want to deal with Ron when he was drunk. Drunks were notoriously hard to put off once they got it in their heads to go after someone. "Yes, what about it?"

He grinned, his eyes dilated. "All I'm saying... is why don't you and I, you know, get acquainted before we have to be separated?"

A sick feeling jumped into the pit of her stomach. "Sorry, Ron, but we're already 'acquainted,' and I have no plans to get further acquainted," she told him quickly, reaching up to push him away. His hands grabbed her wrists, holding them together above her head. The situation was quickly becoming worse, but keeping a level head was her prime concern. Freaking out would encourage him to be more forceful. "Ron, let me go, NOW."

Ron laughed, his brown eyes twinkling in drunken mirth. "I don't think so, little miss pretty butt," he chuckled, reaching around with his other hand to give her posterior a squeeze. "You've been avoiding me these past few days; the chase was sweet, but I think you should just give in now before we have to separate."

Looking to the side, Berry took a few deep, calming breaths, her ire rising. Her arms immobile, she only had her legs to defend herself, and since she didn't wear high heels, couldn't deliver that much damage otherwise. Counting to ten, she turned her green eyes up to him, vicious warning burning like twin green flames in their depths. "Release me, Byron."

"No," he said simply.

With no other warning, she lifted both her legs, planting one foot in his stomach and the other in his crotch, and pushed, hard. Grunting, his hands fell away from her wrists, dropping her to the ground with no support. Quickly, before he could recover, she slammed her hand on the scanner, squeezing in through the door before it could slide open completely. Closing it quickly, she sighed in relief just as it shut before Ron could rise and chase her into her room. That didn't deter him, obviously, given the pounding that followed on the door, but after a minute or so, the pounding trailed off and his heavy footsteps walked away.

Her legs suddenly like jelly, her breathing burning and labored, she stumbled to the bed. She was shaking, now that she had managed to get out of the situation. The food she had eaten sat heavy and leaden in the pit of her stomach, and a cold sweat broke out on her skin. "I'm safe now," she whimpered, clutching her midsection as she tumbled onto to the bed to lay on her side, facing the door, just in case Ron somehow managed to break through the steel door. "I'm safe..."

She fell asleep after her breathing and shaking calmed, but it was hardly a restful sleep. Her dreams were plagued with nightmares of Ron breaking into her room, having his way with her, and she couldn't do a thing to stop him. Berry woke up several times during the course of the night, and eventually had to keep her light on, but finally the night passed. After so many nightmares during the night, she was sweaty and grimy, and quickly took a sonic shower before dressing in her best clothes, a nice blue shortsleeved button down and grey slacks. Hurriedly packing, she let out a sigh of relief as the captain came on over the comm, announcing their arrival at the colony, and to prepare for departure. She finished packing, tossed her bags over her shoulder, and departed her room.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I finally got a review~! Holycrackers, I love you, lone lil reviewer~! You are entirely made of awesome~! I do believe you have just re-inspired me to keep writing this!

So, here's the last chapter until I can get the next chapter written and beta'd.

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

The initial welcome to the colony was unenthusiastic on either side, and the tension between Ron and Berry was nearly palpable. No one commented on it, for which Berry was more than grateful. After the initial introductions, they were directed to their living quarters for the duration of their time on the colony. It was a large building, already housing a couple hundred human workers, and included three rec rooms for off hours. Each worker was given a single bedroom, and was expected to head to the mess hall at 0700 every morning for breakfast. Lunch and dinner could be eaten at any time throughout the day, depending on the work schedule of the individual.

In her own bedroom in the human complex, Berry unpacked her clothes, setting them into the standard issue chest of drawers. There were hardly enough clothes to fit in the drawers, but it would have to do for now, she decided. After unpacking her clothes and books, she moved to the closet, where she was thankful to note that there were three uniforms, along with a lab coat. The lab coat amused Berry to no end, simply because she'd never had the chance to use one while working at her old job. Her last job had pretty much been spent behind a computer screen, double checking the work of the more experienced researchers.

Smiling, she took out one of the uniforms and changed her clothes, and on a second thought grabbed the lab coat and tucked it under her arm. The elders that had greeted them had told them that they would be briefed on their jobs once they made their way to where they would be working.

Exiting her room, she headed down to the mess to grab a quick bite to eat before finding someone to ask where the genetics lab was located. After getting directions, she set out at a brisk walk, humming lightly to herself. Despite the stress of the last few days, she couldn't help but be excited at finally being able to start her job!

Finding the lab proved to be quite a challenge, however, even with directions. All the prefabricated buildings that the colonists had set up looked alike, and there were no individual markers to designate which building was which. After stopping a Vulcan worker for directions, and getting a disinterested stare for her troubles, she was finally able to find the building with the genetics lab. By that time, she was more than a little sweaty from all the walking and the heat. And as she gratefully entered the building, and moved to the lab a few doors away from the entrance, she was thankful that the air was a few degrees cooler than it had been outside.

"Pardon me," she called as she entered the lab. "Is anyone here?"

A head peered out from behind a large microscope that was set up on a table in the center of the lab. "You are Dr. Slater?"

Moving further into the room, Berry smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's me. This is the genetics lab, right?"

"That is correct." The head disappeared back behind the microscope, leaving Berry a little confused. Was this person her coworker? After a minute of the head not coming back up, she moved to stand behind the microscope. There, she got a good look at him. A young Vulcan man by the looks of him, with the generic bowl-cut hairstyle, face devoid of emotions, and the pointy ears. He looked back up at her, and Berry could swear he was annoyed. "May I assist you, Dr. Slater?"

"Err, yea," Berry coughed, feeling shy and unsure. "I was told that someone would tell me exactly what my job would be, and explain... err... things?" She held up her hands lamely, the lab coat still tucked beneath one arm.

Turning back to his work, he told her over his shoulder, "Judging from your thesis paper, you are more than capable of discerning 'your job,' Doctor."

Frowning, she crossed her arms across her stomach. "Though that it is true, the mere fact that I am new here, and don't know my way around the lab, should be cause for at least a few explanations of proper procedures," she snapped.

He turned to look at her again. "Your station is over there," he gestured to the far side of the room. "Your PADDs and comm unit are laid out on the desk. Go over the data on the PADDs, and that will be all the explanation you shall need. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Once he had turned his back to her, again, Berry gave a heartfelt sigh and practically stormed her way over to her station. Just like the Vulcan had said, there were PADDs, and what looked to be a comm in the shape of a heavy metal bracelet. Convenient, since she was pretty sure that the PADDs would take up all her carrying space if she wasn't careful.

With an irritated sigh, she flopped into her chair, and slid the comm onto her wrist before grabbing the first PADD she saw. Over the next couple of hours, she carefully peered over the data that had been collected. There was plenty of data, the majority of which was the general information on the various genetic combinations in Vulcan DNA, and how they could be effectively used in making disease-immune children in later generations. By the time she had finished reading all the data, Berry had a twisted muscle ache in her shoulders, and she knew just about anything and everything she'd ever want to know about Vulcan genetics. She'd been a specialist before, but that had been nothing compared to the data that had been collected for her use.

Setting down the last PADD, she turned in her chair to look over at her coworker's station. He had long since left the microscope in favor of the computer, where he had typed in whatever data he had found in the slides.

"Hey," she called to him.

Glancing at her, he raised an eyebrow, his fingers never slowing from typing on the keyboard. "Do you require assistance?"

"Err, sorta..." She twisted her lips, the muscle ache between her shoulders lending her irritation a firmer hold on her usual calm demeanor. But she still attempted to hold on to her ire at this Vulcan male. "Can I at least know the name of my coworker, and the reason why there seems to be only the two of us in this quite large lab?"

"I am Karek." He said without preamble. "For the work necessary to complete the Vulcan repopulation project set forth by the Federation, very few geneticists are needed, which thus leaves you and I, Dr. Slater."

Berry bit her bottom lip, eyebrow twitching. "So...I was led to believe that this position was desirable and necessary, and yet they only bother to recruit two of us?"

"There had been three others," Karek added. "However, they left, stating hazardous environmental conditions not conducive to cooperation."

"Well, fuck, you're telling me that three other geneticists couldn't work with ya?" She snorted, absentmindedly rubbing her left shoulder. "Why do I get the feeling that you did nothing to alleviate the problem with the 'work environment'?"

"What they required in the name of 'cooperation'," he stated, "it is not my duty to provide."

"Shit..." Berry groaned. "Flibbertigibbet in a porkchip, I sure do hope you work better than you're attitude."

"My work ethic is not in question, doctor," he nearly spat, for a Vulcan. "My 'attitude,' as you so termed it, is not in question, either. The other three human geneticists could not work effectively with what was provided, and so it was unnecessary for them to work has been divvied up between the remaining two―that is, you and I, doctor―into sufficient and manageable shifts."

"I'll show you manageable, right in the keister, if you ever pull any of that sorta crap on me, Karek," Berry said in no uncertain terms. "Work is to be shared, not divvied up. Two heads work better than one, and it'd be easier to catch any potential mistakes."

"I do not make mistakes," Karek warned.

"Well, I do, but then again, I'm only human..." she ground out behind a forced smile. "Either you agree to work together, or you'd best hope that I don't make any...irreparable errors in my calculations, Karek."

"...that...would be best, Dr. Slater," he said after a pause. "Avoidance of errors should be our main priority, rather than logical management of the work load."

"Glad you see it my way," she grinned, standing from her chair. "In any case, I'm gonna head back to the human dorms for some lunch. You'd best take a break, too. Don't need a hungry Vulcan on the job," she laughed, waving at him as she departed from the lab.

Behind her, muttered under his breath, Karek decided, "She is a most illogical human female."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sankyuu again to my lovely lone reviewer~! I finally got chapter four written and beta'd, so here it is. Enjoy~!

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

After that first day, everything became routine between the two, though they spoke little after that first conversation. At first, Berry felt guilty about the whole thing, but once they really got down to working, she figured that it was only just. Karek not only worked efficiently, but expected the same from her! He was a harsh taskmaster, often ripping a data PADD from her hands and doing the work himself if she hadn't completed it by the time he would have. Still, there were some procedures at which she was faster than him, which earned her nods of approval on occasion. Overall, though, they worked well together despite there being only two of them in the lab.

Only about three weeks since her arrival at the colony, Berry was finally scheduled for her first appointment with Dr. Vaughn. Though she had already seen the medical doctor about the effects of the higher gravity on her internal organs, which were adapting admirably, she'd had yet to have her mental evaluation regarding her working relationship with her Vulcan counterpart.

Taking a pause from pouring over the data Karek had thoughtfully collected from his experiments, she stretched her arms high over head, twisting her neck to get the cricks out. After a moment of stretching, she pushed her chair away from the desk, checking the time on the screen of the comm bracelet. It was time to head over to the human complex to Dr. Vaughn's suite of offices.

"Hey, I'll leave the rest to you for today, Karek," she said, packing most of the data PADDs littering her desk away. "I've got an appointment with Dr. Vaughn in a bit, so I need to go ahead and start heading back to the complex."

From his station, Karek looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Did you not already have a physical with Dr. Adams?"

"Err, yea," Berry murmured sheepishly. "Dr. Vaughn is, well, a psychiatrist. The ones running the human side of the project deemed it necessary that all human workers see him at least once, to determine our mental acclimation to the environment."

Nodding once, he returned to his work, leaving Berry with the decided feeling that he was amused that an 'illogical woman' like her needed to visit a psychiatrist. Unsettled by the perceived insult, she added, "Of course, it's mostly to make sure one of us don't go medieval on anyone's ass."

He looked back at her. It was obvious then that he did not know that particular phrase. Then again, most people wouldn't, seeing as how Berry had picked it up from some antique romance novels from the twenty first century.

Laughing, she explained, "The phrase means to basically take medieval weaponry, or even bare fists, and attack someone with them."

"Then say that instead of using such useless phrasing," he scoffed.

"It's more fun to use phrases from a different century," she grinned at him. "Especially since I get some really great looks from those who've never read the books I have."

"That would be a high percentage, then, Dr. Slater," he observed.

She stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "Whatever," she said flippantly. "In any case, I haveta go, so I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Farewell for now, doctor."

With an amused grin on her face, she left the lab, only just remembering to hang her labcoat on the coat rack thoughtfully placed at the entrance. The comm on her wrist beeped with an incoming communication, which was only just Mrs. Vaughn calling to remind Berry of her appointment. With a laugh, Berry told the kind woman that she was already on her way. After thanking her for being so prompt, Mrs. Vaughn disconnected, leaving Berry to trot through the dry heat back to the human complex. She made the journey each morning, noon, and evening, and while her body was beginning to compensate for the higher temperature, she still didn't like it anymore than when she had on her first day. She wasn't the only human that disliked having to walk in the heat, but she wasn't so annoyed with it that she would actually complain about it to anyone that could hear her, like some of the other human workers.

Huffing lightly by the time she reached the doors of the complex, she stepped into the blessedly much cooler air, shivering when the light sweat coating her skin began to cool. A few of the human workers in the lobby called a greeting to her, knowing her by sight, if not by rumor. Though she was hardly the only civilian to be hired by the Federation to work on the project, she was still one of very few that didn't work with at least one other human. She called a greeting back to them, smiling politely as she crossed the lobby to the stairwell. Of course there were elevators, but she really didn't ever bother with the contraptions. So, it took her a couple of minutes to reach the floor Dr. Vaughn's office was on, and by that time she was shivering harder from the exhersion of climbing the several flights of stairs.

"Dr. Slater!"

With a flinch at the voice, Berry turned her head just as she stepped out of the stairwell onto Dr. Vaughn's floor. Though she had finally been able to get rid of the nightmares he had invoked with his 'attentions,' Ron had still been in her mind whenever she wasn't careful. It wasn't the first time in her life that she was frightened by a man, and intellectually she knew that her fears were irrational, given that she had been able to defend herself admirably in each situation, but the fears still lingered. There was a gap between what her mind knew and how she felt. And sometimes, that gap made it difficult to stick with what was right, instead of what felt right.

"H-hello, Ron," she greeted, mentally cursing herself for her slight stutter. "What are you doing here?"

He walked over to her side, taking a quick step back when she took a quick step away when he got too close. With a charming, disarming smile, he apologized, "I feel really bad about what happened on the transport, Dr. Slater."

"Yea, well..." She trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"So, uh, I feel really guilty about it," he continued, rubbing the back of his head. He laughed rather pathetically. "And I know that I really don't deserve it, but, uh, the only thing I can think of to do is beg your forgiveness... So, really, I apologize for trying to...you know."

The silence that followed was awkward and suffocating.

With a sigh, Berry muttered, "Look, I have to get to my appointment with Dr. Vaughn. So, I guess I'll be seeing you around."

Ron looked at her, perking up a little hopefully. "That means you'll forgive me?"

Sighing yet again, she nodded. "For now."

He grinned down at her, obviously thrilled by her words. "We should eat dinner sometime," he said, moving to the bank of elevators a little down the hall, waving goodbye.

"Maybe," Berry muttered under her breath as she waved back, quickly turning around and hurrying in a totally I'm-not-running-away kind of fast-walk. By the time she had located Dr. Vaughn's office, she had managed to calm her mind from the encounter, by sheer will or force of habit she couldn't decide. Either way, she decided it was much better to enter the reception area in a calm manner, rather than in a panicked walk.

"Hello, Dr. Slater," Mrs. Vaughn said from behind the desk, a warm smile lighting her face. "You can just go right in. Kevin's expecting you."

"Yes, thank you," Berry managed in a normal tone of voice, passing by the desk and to the door that led into Dr. Vaughn's office. She strode to the door, which swished open quietly, and entered.

"Dr. Slater, welcome," Dr. Vaughn greeted, a warm smile also lighting his face. He and his wife obviously had much in common, if they could smile the exact same smile with the same amount of warmth. He motioned to the plush chair sitting across the coffee table from his own plush chair. "Shall we begin?"

"Hello, Dr. Vaughn," Berry greeted in turn, quickly taking a seat. "And, yes, let's."

.

After her appointment with Dr. Vaughn, Berry had been deemed unnecessary of therapy, for which she was only half-grateful. Though it would make things easier on her workload to not have to attend a therapy session however many times a week, it was still not a good thing because, that night, her nightmares returned.

After tossing and turning, and waking up at regular intervals throughout the night, Berry finally pulled herself out of bed. She was tired, exhausted, and covered in sweat. Forgiving Ron had been a mistake...or, it could have been meeting him again that had reawakened the nightmares of her encounter with him outside her quarters on the transport. Either way, she honestly did not want to go back to sleep, even if it was way earlier than the time she usually woke. Instead, she slid to the floor and crossed her legs, calming her breath as she attempted to meditate to calm her mind. However, it was no use. The nightmares and fear were still too fresh. All she could do was endure through it all, just like she was used to doing.

Groaning, she rose from the floor and headed to the attached bathroom of her quarters. She took a quick sonic shower, afterward feeling much better without all the sweat from her nightmares. Dressing in her uniform, she headed downstairs, deciding to skip breakfast. It was barely 0630 by the time she reached the lab, and she felt even better after the walk. Though it would only be a temporary reprieve from the nightmares until she could calm her fears with rationality, she was still thankful. She entered the lab, slipping on her labcoat on a second thought, and moved to her station. The lights were on, so obviously Karek was there as well, but she didn't see him. Shrugging to herself, she picked up the PADDs that had been left on her desk, perusing the data that he'd collected for her after she'd left for the night.

However, when Karek walked in and paused at the door, staring at her, she felt a tad bit unsure about having come in early. Hiding behind a mask of smiles, she held her hand up in greeting. "Good morning, Karek."

"...and the same to you, doctor," he said after a moment, continuing his way to his own station. Before he sat down, though, he paused again and turned to her. "It is not even 0700 yet."

"I know," she said, grinning. "I just decided to come in early today."

"I see."

They both turned to their own work, and the minutes trailed by. An hour past her normal breakfast time, her stomach began to grumble about the lack of food. She ignored it for the most part, telling herself that she'd rather be hungry than waiting in her room, all alone, where her thoughts could wander to dangerous territories. It grumbled a few more times, and she still ignored it, hoping distantly that Karek couldn't hear it but knowing he probably could. She was concentrating so hard on ignoring her hunger that she didn't notice Karek get up and leave. However, she noticed when he returned, because he unceremoniously placed a bowl of greens and a fork at her elbow.

Blinking, she looked up at him, a question in her green eyes.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You had best eat," he said. "We do not need a hungry human on the job." With that said, Karek turned and went back to his station, leaving Berry to stare after him in confused awe. Then, she just started laughing. He didn't bother looking back at her, though, but Berry decided that he was probably pleased with himself for returning the barb she'd launched at him on her first day. Shaking her head, she just picked up the fork and started eating, laughing occasionally.

'Yea,' she decided to herself. 'We're gonna get along swimmingly.'


End file.
